Shloka 20
Adhyāya 214: Tapas Redefined—Perpetual Discipline, Hospitality, and the Ethics of Eating (तपः-निरूपणम्, विघसाशी-अतिथिप्रिय-धर्मः)
सर्वगात्रप्रतायिन्यस्तस्या हानुगता: शिरा: । नेत्रयो: प्रतिपद्यन्ते वहन्त्यस्तैजसं गुणम्
sarvagātrapratāyinīyāḥ tasyā hānugatāḥ śirāḥ | netrayoḥ pratipadyante vahantyās taijasaṁ guṇam ||
Bhīṣma said: “The channels (nāḍīs/veins) that follow behind that (principal) conduit and spread throughout the whole body proceed to the eyes, carrying the ‘fiery’ quality—i.e., the power of grasping and perception.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Perception is explained as a function supported by subtle bodily channels: the ‘fiery’ principle (tejas) is said to be conveyed through the body’s conduits to the eyes, enabling grasping/seeing. The verse frames sense-function as grounded in an underlying psycho-physical order rather than mere surface appearance.
In Śānti Parva’s instructional discourse, Bhīṣma is describing how sensory cognition operates. He outlines how channels spreading through the body, following a principal pathway, reach the eyes while bearing the taijasa quality that empowers perception.